Dec. 16, 2020
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Dec. 16, 2020
The ministerial committee that oversees the Shin Bet security service decided on Wednesday night that beginning January 20, the service will only be permitted to use digital tracking tools to find contacts of confirmed coronavirus patients in case they refuse to take part in epidemiological investigations, or following substantial spikes in the infection rate.
The Shin Bet recommended that digital tracking tools such as cell phone location data only be used when the daily infection rate rises above 3,000 new cases.
How COVID – and Israel’s Trump-brokered lovefest with Arab states – are affecting Palestinians
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Dec. 16, 2020
Earlier this week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that he was “continuing to work around the clock to bring in millions of vaccines.” And in fact, the campaign to vaccinate Israelis against COVID-19 is scheduled to begin shortly. The size of the population, the existence of a suitable logistical infrastructure for storing and transporting the vaccines at the requisite low temperatures, and an effective HMO system put Israel in a better position to conduct a broad, speedy national vaccination campaign compared to other countries – and even more so compared to territories like the West Bank and Gaza.
While in Israel people are debating whether to be vaccinated, in the West Bank and Gaza it isn’t clear where they will get vaccines from, when they will get them, and who will pay for them. “We’re in a state of uncertainty; it isn’t clear when vaccines will arrive in quantities that can serve most of the population,” said a senior official
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The state noted that the committee had recommended at the beginning of the month to extend permits to trace contacts for only 14 days, although the law allows a 21-day maximum. During these past two weeks, it said, “The Health Ministry, Shin Bet and National Security Council will put together an authorized position so that the Shin Bet tools may be used more effectively and with a clear focus, suited to the overall developments, including the aim of cutting the chain of infection.”
The government has accepted a recommendation to extend the use of the app until Thursday, December 17, the state added.
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Dec. 16, 2020
Senior officials in the Gaza Strip’s health care system warned Tuesday that the system was at risk of collapse due to the sharp rise in the number of coronavirus patients in serious condition and on ventilators. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, since Monday the number of seriously ill or ventilated patients has gone up by 40 and now stands at 226.
According to Gaza health sources, the hospitals and wards treating coronavirus patients are at 90 percent capacity. The two hospitals that were designated to deal with COVID-19 patients in Khan Yunis and Gaza City are full, and patients are now being sent to other facilities.
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